Song of the Day: Ganglians – Cryin’ Smoke

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole, is “Cryin’ Smoke” by Ganglians from their 2009 album Monster Head Roomon Woodsist.

The “jangly” acoustic guitar intro and harmonizing vocals of today’s Song of the Day fit the lo-fi mood of this bearded four-piece perfectly. In fact, this Sacramento band is almost tailor made for Woodsist, a label known for taking chances with unique lo-fi bands like Wavves, Woods, Vivian Girls and Kurt Vile. That’s not to say Ganglians sound like the rest of their label-mates (they don’t), but they do share some common ground. They all march to their own beat. Their “lo-fi in a hi-fi world” sound harkens back to classic 60’s psychedelia, but don’t let the beards fool you; these guys sound more like the Beach Boys on heavy acid than they do the Fleet Foxes. If you’re looking for good headphone stoner/psychedelic rock, this is your band.

Ganglians are currently on tour and are scheduled to play a few Northwest gigs in late August, though the Seattle date (August 22nd) is still listed as “TBA”. You can find out more about the band and listen to additional tracks on their MySpace page. Normally, we’d show you a video of the band performing live or an official video, but this is too good to pass up: the following is a segment from the 90’s Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete and Pete mashed with the Ganglians song “Hair”: